The three princesses in the blue mountain

He then had to take the horn down from the wall and take three draughts from it, but was only just able to stir the sword. When he had taken three more draughts he could lift it, and when he had taken another three he swung it as easily as if it had been a feather.

The Princess then settled with the soldier to do the same as her sisters had done. As soon as the troll was well asleep she would call the hens, and he must then make haste and come in and put an end to the troll.

All of a sudden they heard such a thundering, rambling noise, as if the walls and roof were tumbling in.

“Ugh! Ugh! I smell Christian blood and bone in my house,” said the troll, sniffing with all his nine noses.

“Yes, you never saw the like! Just now a raven flew past here and dropped a human bone down the chimney. I threw it out, but the raven brought it back, and this went on for some time,” said the Princess; but she got it buried at last, she said, and she had both swept and cleaned the place, but she supposed it still smelt.

“Yes, I can smell it well,” said the troll.

“Come here and lie down in my lap and I will scratch your heads,” said the Princess. “The smell will be all gone when you awake.”

He did so, and when he was snoring at his best she put stools and cushions under the heads so that she could get away to call the hens. The soldier then came in in his stockinged feet and struck at the troll, so that eight of the heads fell off at one blow. But the sword was too short and did not reach far enough; the ninth head woke up and began to roar.

“Ugh! Ugh! I smell a Christian.”

“Yes, here he is,” answered the soldier, and before the troll could get up and seize hold of him the soldier struck him another blow and the last head rolled along the floor.

You can well imagine how glad the Princesses became now that they no longer had to sit and scratch the trolls’ heads; they did not know how they could do enough for him who had saved them. The youngest Princess took off her gold ring and knotted it in his hair.